London, Feb. 21 (Reuters): A nutrient that is produced naturally in the body and found in some foods could be a potential new treatment for malaria, scientists said today.

A team of international researchers who studied 75 children in Africa discovered that those with the lowest levels of the nutrient arginine suffered the most severe effects of malaria.

They believe that combining arginine, which is used to treat heart and circulatory diseases, with anti-malaria drugs could be a more effective way of combating the mosquito-borne disease that kills someone every 30 seconds.